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Picture of Representative Karen DeSanto

Representative Karen DeSanto

Assembly District 40

(D - Baraboo)
District map based on 2023 Wisconsin Act 94
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2025 author index
Historical information
Madison Office:
 Room 7 West
State Capitol
PO Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708 Telephone:
 (608) 237-9140
(888) 947-0040 Fax:
 (608) 282-3640 Voting Address:
Baraboo, WI 53913
Staff:
 Lauren Damgaard Lauren.Damgaard@legis.wisconsin.gov

Biography

  • Born July 1964, Sacramento, California; divorced; 1 child.
  • Education: Luther Burbank High School (California); Consumnes River College; BFA Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College; leadership certifications from Harvard School of Business, Stanford University, American Management Association, Lily School of Philanthropy.
  • Occupation: Owner of Catalyst Consulting LLC. Former international performing circus clown, Ringling Bros.; education and outreach director, Circus World Museum; customer service director in the grocery industry; CEO, Boys & Girls Club of West Central Wisconsin; president, Wisconsin Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs of Wisconsin.
  • Member: Wisconsin Women in Government; Electing Women Wisconsin.
  • Elected to Assembly 2024.

Member of Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse

2025 Authored Proposals

(first or second author, first sponsor)

  • 4/23/2025: 2025 Assembly Bill 213
    Relating to: prohibiting hedge funds from acquiring single-family homes in this state. (FE)

2025 Co-authored Proposals

2025 Cosponsored Proposals

  • 5/21/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 57
    Relating to: designating May as Older Americans Month in Wisconsin.

  • 5/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 271
    Relating to: right to bodily autonomy, elimination of certain abortion-related regulations, and coverage of abortion under certain health care coverage plans. (FE)

  • 5/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 272
    Relating to: eligibility for Family Care for individuals who are deaf-blind. (FE)

  • 5/20/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 265
    Relating to: waiver of fees for admission to state parks on Earth Day. (FE)

  • 5/20/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 264
    Relating to: coverage of breast cancer screenings by the Medical Assistance program and health insurance policies and plans. (FE)

  • 5/20/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 268
    Relating to: prohibiting corporal punishment in public and private schools.

  • 5/9/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 45
    Relating to: proclaiming May 2025 and May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Months.

  • 5/9/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 47
    Relating to: observing Tuesday, March 25, 2025, as Equal Pay Day in Wisconsin.

  • 5/9/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 246
    Relating to: a special observance day in schools for Armenian Genocide Awareness Day.

  • 4/29/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 37
    Relating to: the right of the people to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment and to its preservation (first consideration).

  • 4/29/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 38
    Relating to: an advisory referendum on an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

  • 4/29/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 41
    Relating to: celebrating 50 years of strength and resilience of the Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, and Vietnamese people.

  • 4/29/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 42
    Relating to: proclaiming 2025 as the year of the snake.

  • 4/29/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 40
    Relating to: recognizing Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month as a time to honor the important contributions of Asians, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.

  • 4/25/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 33
    Relating to: declaration of the Economic Justice Bill of Rights.

  • 4/16/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 208
    Relating to: prohibiting hedge funds from acquiring single-family homes in this state. (FE)

  • 4/16/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 31
    Relating to: proclaiming March 31, 2025, as Wisconsin’s Transgender Day of Visibility.

  • 4/14/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 23
    Relating to: proclaiming the week of April 28 to May 2, 2025, as School Nutrition Professionals Appreciation Week.

  • 3/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 149
    Relating to: requiring the legislature to convene an extraordinary session if an executive order of the president of the United States freezes federal aid to the state.

  • 3/14/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 135
    Relating to: special observance days in schools.

  • 3/14/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 17
    Relating to: honoring April 22, 2025, as the 55th anniversary of Earth Day.

  • 2/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 67
    Relating to: providing state aid to reimburse public and private schools that provide free meals to all pupils for the costs of those meals and making an appropriation. (FE)

  • 2/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 60
    Relating to: expanding the homestead income tax credit. (FE)

  • 2/21/2025: 2025 Senate Bill 50
    Relating to: health care costs omnibus, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty. (FE)

  • 2/5/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 6
    Relating to: honoring the life and enduring legacy of Robert George Uecker.

  • 2/3/2025: 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 3
    Relating to: proclaiming January 2025 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the state of Wisconsin.